Romans 6:1-4 Chapter 6 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? 3 Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

Some Christians have a hard time with the doctrine of grace because they think it’s a license to sin. It just seems too easy to believe in Jesus and then do as you please. Shouldn’t believers still be required to live a certain way in order to please the Lord? The problem with this reasoning is that it mixes legalism with grace by saying, “Sure, we are saved by grace, but after salvation, you’d better follow the rules to stay in God’s favor.” Such thinking cuts the heart out of grace and poisons the message of hope.

What we need to realize is that grace is a greater motivator than law. When you have to perform in order to please the Lord, guilt is your constant companion because you can never be good enough. Every time you fail to live up to your own expectations, you may question whether He loves you—or maybe even whether you’re really saved. God doesn’t want us to live in bondage to performance. We’ve already received His acceptance, and there is nothing more we can add to it.

Grace not only sets us free from guilt but also motivates us to obey and serve the Lord out of love and gratitude for everything He has done for us. Instead of feeling burned out in our service, we will have a burning passion for Him.

Are you working harder and harder to please God? If so, you’re probably worn out. When you truly learn to understand and live in His grace, you’ll be energized because obedience and service will be a natural result of His overflowing love. Instead of guilt, you’ll have joy and gratitude.

Bible in One Year: Psalms 79-84 Chapter 79 1 O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. 2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them. 4 We are become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us. 5 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name. 7 For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation. 8 Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us; For we are brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake. 10 Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight. 11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death; 12 And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. 13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture Will give thee thanks for ever: We will show forth thy praise to all generations. Psalm 80 For the Chief Musician, set to Shoshanim Eduth.. A Psalm of Asaph. Chapter 80 1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest `above' the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us. 3 Turn us again, O God; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. 4 O Jehovah God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? 5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure. 6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. 8 Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it. 9 Thou preparedst `room' before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were `like' cedars of God. 11 It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River. 12 Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it? 13 The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine, 15 And the stock which thy right hand planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. 18 So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name. 19 Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts; Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Psalm 81 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. `A Psalm' of Asaph. Chapter 81 1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. 2 Raise a song, and bring hither the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the psaltery. 3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day. 4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5 He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, When he went out over the land of Egypt, `Where' I heard a language that I knew not. 6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: His hands were freed from the basket. 7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah 8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me! 9 There shall no strange god be in thee; Neither shalt thou worship any foreign god. 10 I am Jehovah thy God, Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me. 12 So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels. 13 Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries. 15 The haters of Jehovah should submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever. 16 He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee. Psalm 82 A Psalm of Asaph. Chapter 82 1 God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? Selah 3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High. 7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes. 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For thou shalt inherit all the nations. Psalm 83 A song. A Psalm of Asaph. Chapter 83 1 O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 Thy take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: 8 Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah 9 Do thou unto them as unto Midian, As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon; 10 Who perished at Endor, Who became as dung for the earth. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna; 12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession The habitations of God. 13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind. 14 As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire, 15 So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm. 16 Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah. 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish; 18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 84 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Chapter 84 1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts! 2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God. 3 Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even thine altars, O Jehovah of hosts, My King, and my God. 4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee. Selah 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; In whose heart are the highways `to Zion'. 6 Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs; Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength; Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion. 8 O Jehovah God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah 9 Behold, O God our shield, And look upon the face of thine anointed. 10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12 O Jehovah of hosts, Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. Psalm 85 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.